


Odds Are We're Gonna Be Alright

by jbucks98



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Caring Danny, Comfort, Fluff, M/M, References to Illness, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbucks98/pseuds/jbucks98
Summary: After Arin struggles throughout the day with a nasty illness, Danny is there to take care of him.
Relationships: Dan Avidan/Arin Hanson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	Odds Are We're Gonna Be Alright

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing my first ever fanfiction! I love the Game Grumps and the unique relationship between Arin and Dan, and trying to accurately characterize them was definitely a fun challenge to undertake. This fic is basically just me living out my needs for affectionate cuddles and touches :) The title is from the song "Odds Are" by Barenaked Ladies.

Dan had been giving Arin worried looks throughout the last hour of their recording session. The younger man started the day with a scratchy throat and mild headache, but after hours of recording, it became agonizing to even swallow, let alone scream in rage. Normally Arin didn’t care to be fussed over- he was thirty-three years old, for God’s sake- but today, he was content to let his partner carry the show.

“Next time on Game Grumps... hopefully Arin will stop coughing all over my shit like a maniac,” Dan joked, giggling at the middle finger Arin lazily shot his way. 

Arin did feel a little bad, though. “Sorry,” he murmured, curling into himself on the couch.

Dan shot him a warm smile, getting up to turn off the capture. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. I’m just teasing- I know you can’t help it.” 

Arin made some noise of agreement, leaning back and closing his eyes. It was nice to have a break from talking, but his body’s aches and pains were quickly multiplying. His head was pounding mercilessly, his chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it, and every limb ached, even his fingers. 

“What time is it?” he slurred, not bothering to worsen his headache with the light from his phone.

“Just after 2,” Dan called from the other side of the room. Arin could faintly hear him pressing buttons and- wait, was he dismantling the recording equipment?

“What are you doin’?” Arin croaked pitifully, squinting until he could see Dan’s outline. Thankfully, he didn’t have to explain himself, as Dan said “We’re finishing our session early so I can take you home. . .” 

Dan’s voice became slightly louder as he neared Arin, but he still kept it at a low tone to keep Arin’s headache from worsening. “And you can rest.” He concluded his statement by giving Arin a playful “boop” on the nose. 

Arin frowned. “But- the Lovelies-” he attempted to argue through his raw throat. 

Arin felt the couch dip slightly as Dan sat down next to him. “You know the Lovelies will understand that you’re sick. Besides, we’ve got plenty of episodes backlogged, and I’d much rather have you leave work early than try to power through it and make yourself even sicker.”

Arin sighed, the sound raspy and dull. “Don’ wanna get you sick,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry about that, okay?” Dan said. “I’d prefer for the two of us to suffer through the virus from hell together than to have you try to fight this by yourself.”

Arin found himself oddly touched by this, but he still wasn’t satisfied. He opened his mouth to argue again. . . until his body chose to send him into a coughing fit. 

Through his own chest-wracking coughs and labored breaths, Arin could dimly feel Dan pulling him into a hug, patting his back and whispering random soothing words into his ear. Arin gave a final shuddering gasp, feeling his eyes water from the pain and exertion, and rested his forehead on Dan’s shoulder.

Dan smiled. “You’re snuggly when you’re sick,” he said casually, before frowning and shifting positions. “Jesus, Arin, you’re like a fucking furnace.”

Arin just groaned pitifully, blinking when he felt Dan’s hand rest on his forehead. Dan gave Arin a sympathetic smile, letting his hand linger on Arin’s forehead for just a second longer than what would be considered normal. 

“Yeah, you definitely have a fever.”

Arin gazed up at Dan, grinning cheesily. “So you’re finally admitting I’m hot?”

Dan snorted, barely managing to get out a “Shut up” through his giggles. 

Arin rested his head on Dan’s shoulder again, and- oh, this was nice, especially as Dan’s long fingers began to lightly stroke his hair. Arin gave the man a weary smile and snuggled into his side. 

“C’mon, Big Cat,” Dan murmured after a few blissful minutes, his fingers never stopping their rhythmic strokes. “Let me take you home.”

“Only if you keep stroking my hair,” Arin mumbled, and okay, where the hell had  _ that _ come from?

Thankfully, Dan seemed unperturbed, giving Arin a jovial ruffle of his hair before declaring “Oh, my friend, trust me... You’ll see that these fingers are magical in more ways than one.”

Arin simply looked at Dan with a blank stare. 

“Get your mind out of the gutter, dude! I was  _ obviously _ talking about a sweet cuddle sesh.” Dan declared, lightly poking Arin in the side. 

“Whatever.” Arin didn’t have the strength to argue that the line between Dan Avidan and Danny Sexbang was growing thinner by the day. Dan laughed softly and sprung off the couch, extending his hand for Arin to grab. Arin stood up much more cautiously, wincing as a sudden bout of pain flashed through his head. Dan’s cheerful countenance flickered, but only for a second. 

“We’ll take it easy, okay? Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. I’ve got you.”

As the pair made their way to the exit, all Arin was aware of- aside from the uncomfortable heat emitting from his skin- was Dan’s hands on his shoulders, guiding him towards the front door and occasionally giving him a gentle rub of his thumbs. 

* * *

Arin had tried to stay awake in the car, he really had... but with the combination of a grueling doctor’s appointment, the humming of the wheels on the road, and Dan’s soft singing to whatever 80s jam was on the radio, he was almost immediately knocked out.

As Dan pulled into his driveway and parked the car, he continued humming to his playlist of power ballads, hoping his voice would keep Arin in a peaceful slumber. Once the song ended, he unbuckled his seatbelt and went to the passenger side, opening the door to a sleeping Arin. 

“Hey, Ar,” he murmured, kneeling next to the car and placing a hand on Arin’s arm. “Time to wake up, buddy. We’re home.”

Arin blearily opened his eyes and stared at Dan with a vacant expression. Dan couldn’t keep himself from giggling.

“Geez, you must really be out of it. C’mon, up and at ‘em.”

Arin sighed, before unbuckling his seatbelt and raising himself off the seat. Dan immediately draped his arms around the younger man, steering him towards the door. 

“Just a few more steps, we’re almost there. . .” he said, encouraging Arin to walk just a little bit longer.

After a few more stumbling steps, the pair made it to Dan’s front door. Dan fumbled for his key and quickly opened the door, leading Arin inside to the spacious hallway. 

“Sorry for the mess, I-” Dan was about to delve into his hectic morning when he saw how Arin was swaying in the doorway, his eyes clouded over. Dan gave a low whistle, gently pulling Arin away from the door. “Man. This fever is not messing around."

Arin nodded imperceptibly, looking like he could crash at any second. Taking pity on him, Dan darted to the couch and swept his various articles of clothing off until there was enough space for Arin to comfortably stretch out. 

“Why don’t you lie down and take a little nap, and I’ll make you some soup?” Dan coaxed, running his hand through the younger man’s sweat-matted hair. Arin leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and nodding. Dan scanned the room until he found a blue Giants blanket- crumpled in a ball next to the TV, for God knows what reason- and tenderly wrapped it around Arin’s shoulders, making sure all of Arin’s body was enveloped in the soft fabric. “You can sleep, it’s okay. I’m just in the kitchen if you need me.”

After a few minutes of Arin trying to situate himself on the couch without totally wiping out, he managed to find a relatively comfortable position. Dan smiled at the sight, heading into the kitchen on lithe feet and browsing the Internet for the perfect vegetable soup recipe.

* * *

No matter how hard he tried, Arin couldn’t fall asleep. The couch was perfectly cushy, the blanket was warm enough to keep his chills at bay, but... he missed Danny. 

Sue him. He was feverish and incoherent, and he was getting that damn cuddle session (hopefully without getting Dan sick in the process).

Despite the rising pressure in his ears, he could hear Dan’s footsteps padding on the wooden floor and smell a mouthwatering aroma of tomatoes, potatoes and broth. He raised his eyes up at Dan, who was smiling at him so sweetly that Arin felt like his chest was going to burst. 

“I made you some vegetable soup- I figured it would be easy on your stomach. Plus, soup is just fucking magical when you’re sick.” Dan laughed.

“Hell yeah. Soup is rad,” Arin uttered, grimacing at the sharp pains his brief speech caused in his throat. He attempted to prop himself up on the couch, his face flushing at how weary his arms felt. Dan, noticing his struggles, plopped down next to Arin and gently steadied his body.

“Is this okay?” Dan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. Arin gave a quiet affirmative whisper, suddenly feeling exhausted and like he might accidentally-on-purpose collapse into Dan. 

“Are you feeling up for some soup? I don’t want to force you to eat, but I want you to have something in your system.”

“Yeah, I can eat,” Arin said, his voice becoming more strained by the second. Dan flinched slightly before asking “Why don’t you just type what you want to say on your phone from now on? I don’t want you to mess your voice up even more.” 

Arin nodded, carefully maneuvering around Dan to pick up his fragrant soup. A few minutes went by, with Arin’s slurps being the only sounds punctuating the silence, before Dan spoke up again. “Were you able to get a good nap while I was in the kitchen?”

For whatever reason, Arin felt his cheeks grow hot, and he steadfastly avoided making eye contact with Dan. Dan saw the expression on Arin’s face and winced, saying “Was it too hot in here? Is the couch not comfortable enough? Or-”

“No!” Arin got out, shifting onto his back. “It’s-”

“Ah, ah, ah-” Dan said, effectively cutting Arin off. “Phone, please.” Arin playfully rolled his eyes, before pulling out his phone and deliberating exactly how he could communicate his wishes to Dan. 

Oh well, it was now or never. Arin typed out a hasty “I wished you were here”, then shoved the phone off to Dan, rolling away so he didn’t have to see the look on Dan’s face when he laughed at him.

Instead, he heard a sharp inhale and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his stomach. “Aww,” Dan crooned into his ear, and Arin gave a helpless giggle. 

“You could have just said so, buddy. I’ll always be here for you,” Dan said, his hand lightly rubbing up and down Arin’s arm. Arin gave Dan a half smile, taking a few more sips of his soup before squeezing Dan’s free hand. The two men laid together in comfortable silence for a while, until Dan asked innocently, “Do you want to try sleeping again?” 

Arin had no idea what time it was, but he figured going to sleep couldn’t hurt. He gave Dan a thumbs-up, his eyelids already fluttering shut. Dan giggled at the sight before whispering “I’m just gonna grab you your medicine and stuff, okay? I’ll be right back.” 

In just a few minutes, Arin was jolted out of his dreamy haze by Dan smoothly sliding behind him and resuming their cuddling position from before. “Sorry, sorry,” Dan whispered bashfully, before gently stroking a few strands of hair away from Arin’s face. “You can go back to sleep, it’s okay. I’m right here.” 

Arin smiled at Dan before pulling out his phone yet again and typing “Would you mind doing something for me?”. Dan’s eyes scanned the text before he said “Anything for you” without hesitation. Arin blushed, both at the sentiment and at what he was about to ask, before typing “Would you sing something to me?”

Arin could hear the smile in Dan’s voice as he gently said “Of course.” He tenderly positioned Arin so Arin’s head was laying on Dan’s chest, with one of Dan’s hands cradling Arin’s head.

A few seconds went by before Arin heard Danny humming to himself, feeling the vibrations rumble through the older man’s chest. He only barely recognized the tune- Danny would absentmindedly vocalize snatches of it as they were setting up for Grump sessions- but it was low, soft, and soothing, and Dan’s voice had always been one of Arin’s favorite sounds in the world. Arin closed his eyes, feeling comfortably warm, safe, and even loved, in this one tender moment.

After Dan finished the song, he whispered “I’m sorry you’re feeling so sick, Big Cat. . . but I’ll take care of everything. Don’t you worry.” Arin kept his eyes closed, inwardly smiling when Dan’s free hand moved up to stroke his hair and another hummed tune began. Despite his brutal illness, Arin was comforted by the fact that him and Dan had such a special bond, and he fell asleep in the arms of one of his favorite people, knowing Dan would never leave him.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any edits or suggestions, please leave them in the comments- I'd love to hear from you!


End file.
